Acquaintance-promoting machine



(2.7], WITZORECK. ACQUAINTANCE PROMOTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE13, 1918.

I 1,329,218. Patented Jan. 27, 1920.

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WITNESSES INVENTOR (aw/d W/rweck C. J. WITZORECK. ACQUAINTANCE PROMOTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 13. I918. 1,329,218, Patented Jan. 27,1920.

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. FROM T0 25 NOTIFYING YOU THAT A PHOTO CARD l5 IN TNF. MACHINE.

WITNESSES INVENTOB .J. WITZORECK. ACQUAINTANCE PROMOTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 13. I918- Patented Jan. 27, 1920.

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C. J. WITZORECK. ACQUAINTANCE PROMOTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION HLED JUNE 13, 1918- 1,329,218, Patented Jan. 27, 1920.

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Ti a5.

WI TA/ESSES E I I B) A FOR/V578 CARL J. WITZORECK, OF MILLVALE, PENNSYLVANIA.

ACQUAINTANCE-PROMOTING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 2'7, 1920.

Application filed June .3, 1918. Serial No. 239,905.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL J. VVrrzonnoK, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of h lillvale, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented anew and Improved Acquaintance Promoting liachine, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a machine adapted to be used in confectionery and other stores, ice cream parlors and the like, for the running of acquaintancepromoting clubs, the members of which will have some suitable designating device, such as a button of a particular color, for a given city or locality, and a designating number or letter, the letter being the designation of the machine or club and the number the membership designation thereof. Each member has the privilege of addressing communications to any member of any other club by taking note of the color of the button, the letter and number thereon and correspondingly addressing the communication which is dropped in the home machine and mailed by the owner of the latter, and the addressee will reply and address his or her communication with the machine and membership designation of the first person.

The general objects of the present invention are to provide a machine for the purpose mentioned which is of comparatively simpl andv inexpensive construction, easy to operate, and reliable and efficient in use, said machine embodying a cabinet having a plurality of drums for holding photographloearing cards and means for operating or adjustingthe drums with respect to the view opening, also a rack containing membership pigeonholes for cards, letters orv other communications, and means for holding cards or writing materials for the members to use.

For a more complete understanding of the invention reference is to behacl to the following description and claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of the invention and wherein similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, in which Figure 1 is a front view of the machine with portions broken away to illustrate the details of construction;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section;

Fig. 3 is a side View;

7 12 engages, so

thereof in alinement Fig. 4 is a rear view of the upper portion with the door of the pigeonhole box open;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary edge view of a drum;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of the circumference of the drum;

Figs. 7 and 8 are views of a photograph;

Figs. 9 and 10 are views of the membership buttons;

Fig. 11 is a detail sectional View on the line 11-11, Fig. 1; and

Fig. 12 is a view of a notification card.

Referring to the drawing, A designates a cabinet which is of any approved construction or design, and in the top 1 is a view opening 2 through which members of the acquaintance club having the machine are privileged to look to see photograph cards which may have been received for them. Within the cabinet is a horizontal shaft 3 on which is slidably mounted and keyed thereto a drum d made of two sections 4 and 5 connected by a hub collar 6, and the periphery of each section has fastened thereto parallel strips 7, so arranged that between adjacent strips a pocket will be formed for receiving a plurality of photo graphcards which are exchanged between members of the same club or of different clubs. These pockets are numbered from 1 to 50 on one section and from 51 to 100 on the other section, and besides the number each pocket has a letter which corresponds to the letter assigned to the whole machine. Thus, as shown in Fig. 1, th machine is lettered A. The shaft 3 has an extension which projects out of the cabinet and is provided with an index wheel 8 which on its periphery has a band 9 which bears numbers to correspond with the pocket numbers on the drum d. This wheel 8 is fastened to the shaft, so that when the wheel is turned the drums turn with it. On the projecting end of the shaft 3 is a loose arm 10 which has a handle 11 formed with a pin 12, which slides through the eye-like extremity 13 of the arm. so that th pin can be engaged in any one of the apertures 14: arranged in the side face of the wheel 8, there being fifty of these apertures to correspond with the number of pockets on the drum, and behind the wheel is a stationary locking member 15 having an aperture 16 into which the pin as to hold the drum stationdesired card-holding pocket ar'y," with the with the View slot 17 in a scene the cabinet at a point between the drum and view opening 2.

The slot 17 is as long as either section 4 or 5 of the drum is wide, and consequently it is necessary to shift the drum" axially to bring the pocket of any drum into registry with'*the slot 17'. For this purpose ashifting arm 19 is mounted on a rock shaft 20 and has a bifurcated end '21 which'straddles a ring 22 mounted in the groove 23 of the hub xtension2i'of drum section 5, there being 'pins'25 on the ring '22 which engage in slots 26 int'hebifurc ations 21. The shaft 20 extends out of the rear ofv the casing and has"anope'rating handle 27 whereby the owner or person in charge of, the machine ca'n shift the drum for the purpose mentioned? When V a of. its extreme positions from the normal cen traI position' shown in Fig. 1; an electric lamp 28in the top of the cabinet is adapted to lightedfto illuminate the scene plate s a p; ie ai ee i t d n eet 29 having a"source offcurreiit 3.0, and sta tionary c ontacts 31 and 3 2with which is adapted toengage L thelev'ei 1 9, so that automatically the switch member can drop card or other e mmuni cation into the cabinet, communications are collected atsta'ted times by the one Charge stilts w re; a d d l r ted r mailed.

At the top B whichis Y which are closed, atfthe front it {fie S. .8 which has designations from A-l to A 100, therebeing apigeonhole for each member oi the corresponde'nce'club. On the back offthe case Bis a door 39 which has a plurality ofthe cabinet is a case or rack construction for holding cards, letter paper, the members to envelops and the i like for use.

Each member has a button G which bears a club letter'c, Fig. 9,, and a membership number a, the button in 9 belonging to a member of club A andhaving the membership designation 25.' Other clubs in the same city would have buttons of the same number but difi'erent letters'or combinations of. letters. and members of clubs in" other i-nJFig. o.

- itiesfiieii d r ton f d fi r et el i fihebpttee 1 plate 18 arranged in the top of the drum isshifted to either a contact 33 carriedbv contacts 31 32 can be divided" into pigeenh'ol'es 3.7.

of holders 40' of any suitable Each member of a machine will be provided with-photo-cards' F, such as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. On the front of the card will be a space to receive a small photograph f, Fig 8, and at the side is a space 7 on which are printed the words From and To, and blank spaces on which will be written"themachine letter and membership number of the person sending the photoc'ard, and the machine letter and membership number of the person intended to receivev the card. On the back of the card, as shown in Fig. 7 are printed the words From? and are, and in the blanl; spaces will be written the city and State from and to which the photo-card is sent.

It will be assiimed that member 12d machine B in New Yorlr city desires to send his photo-card to member 25 otmachine A in Pittsburgh. The photo-card will accordingly be'filled out asshown in Figs. 7 and 8.. WVh en the operator of 'machine A in Pittsburgh receives the photo-card he places a notification card G, Fig. 12, in that pigeon-hole STivliich is numbered 25, in machine A, also places the photo-card onthe druni d its proper pocket. Vhen member A of niachine2 examines his pigeon' hol'e or boX'he removes the notification cardfGrv and presentsit'to the operator, who will 'then'ope'rate' the machine to bring the photo-card into viewthrough the openings 2 and l7,'so'that the member can see the picture of. the person who is communicating with him. After this is done the operator returns the photo card to thesender. i 7

It is to" be understood that a direction book will be given to each member of a niachine, inwhich' book will be listed all the different cities having machines their numbers and the colors of 'buttons, and other necessary information. Y 2

Having thus described. claim as new and desireto n a: a

1. machine o t the class describedcomprising a cabinet having ayiewopening, a

pocket drum mounted in the cabinet, means i vent n, I secure by Letters for rotatably and axially moving the drum to bring any desired pocketin registry with the view opening. and a scene element disposed between the view opening and drum and having a slot therein through which any desired, pocket can be seen.

' machine of the class described comprising a cabinet having a single view opening; a movable element having two sets of card-holding pockets, the pockets having designations, and meansjfor moving the element in two directions at right angles to each other for bringing anypocket of either set in register with the view opening, and

indicating means exterior of the cabinet and having designations corresponding-with the designations of the pockets;

3. A machine of the class described comprising a cabinet having a single view opening, a shaft therein, a drum formed of sections and keyed to and slidable on the shaft, each section of the drum being provided with pockets having designations, and separate means disposed outside the cabinet and connected with the drum for axially and rotatably moving the latter to bring any pocket of either section of the drum into registry with the view opening, the means for rotating the drum having designations corresponding with the designations of the pockets.

4. A machine of the class described comprising a cabinet having a view opening, a shaft mounted in the cabinet, a drum having a series of pockets and mounted on the shaft to turn therewith and movable axially thereon, the pockets having designations, an index wheel connected with the shaft and located outside the cabinet and having designations corresponding with the designations of the pockets, whereby the wheel is turned to bring any desired pocket in alinement with the view opening, means for locking the wheel against movement, and means for axially shifting the drum with respect to the view opening.

5. A machine of the class described comprising acabinet having a view opening, a scene in the cabinet having a view slot, a carrier movably mounted inthe cabinet and having article-containing pockets adapted to be brought into alinement with the slot, a lamp for illuminating the scene, means for moving the said carrier, and a switch automatically closed by the movement of the car rier to position with a pocket in registry with the slot.

6. In a machine of the class described, a, casing having a view opening, a drum mounted in the casing and having one end of its shaft projecting outside of the casing, said drum having card holding means on its periphery, an indexing wheel secured to the projecting end of the shaft and provided with apertures, an arm loose on the shaft outside of the indexing wheel and having an eye at its end, and a pin slidably mounted in the eye of the arm and adapted to engage the apertures of the said wheel.

7. In a machine of the class described, a casing having a view opening, a drum 'mounted in the casing and having one end of its shaft projecting outside of the casing, said drum having card holding means on its periphery, an apertured indexing wheel secured to the projecting end of the drum shaft, a fixed member having an aperture adapted to register with the apertures of the indexing wheel, an arm loosely mounted on the projecting end of the said shaft, and a pin slidably mounted on the arm and adapted to engage an aperture of the indexing wheel and the aperture of said member.

8. In a machine of the class described, a casing having a view opening, a revoluble and slidable drum mounted in the casing and having two sets of card holding means on its periphery, a scene in the casing and having a slot registering with the view opening of the casing, a rocking arm engaging the hub of the drum to slide the drum and provided with a contact, an electric current, a lamp in the circuit, and contacts on the casing and with which the contact of the rocking arm is adapted to engage.

CARL J. WITZORECK. 

